Spa Report

The Way to Wellness

by Mary Bergin

At RarinJinda Wellness Spa Resort, the latest spa technology merges with traditional Thai treatments to induce a deep sense of wellbeing.

For the first couple of minutes, I remain a skeptic, simply watching colors change on a small computer screen. The doctor’s questions
seem more like a fortuneteller’s.

“You have a skin problem?” he begins. I do a quick mental assessment and quietly disagree. Truly. I’m not trying to be difficult.

Unflinching, he moves on. “Your colon is dry, very dry … you need more water and more sleep.” It feels like he’s stalling, or fishing. Who wouldn’t need more of either after crossing a dozen time zones? The jetlag lingers.

My fingers rest on a metal, hand-shaped biosensor, connected to the computer and screen that we both study. Dr. Sushil Rahul’s back faces me when he decides: “You carry much stress in your shoulder — your right shoulder.”

And that’s when he starts to command my respect. I admit to years of carrying shoulder bags and cameras, and how nothing completely eases the nagging, chronic pain.

He wonders about my lungs and, yes, I am an ex-smoker with relatively weak pipes. He concludes that I think too much, an odd but compelling observation because the Dalai Lama’s personal physician drew the same conclusion 10 years ago.

“Do you start and stop a lot of projects, without finishing?” he presses, and a friend who witnesses the gentle inquiry would later sum up my facial reaction in one word: busted.

Rahul’s office equipment at the RarinJinda Wellness Spa Resort, Chiang Mai (450 miles north of Bangkok) reveals health issues and defines a customer’s aura, which is the type of electromagnetic field surrounding the body. Medical advancements have involved the work of biosensor equipment, including a handheld diagnostic device developed in 1997 by researchers at the University of California, San Diego. Now biosensors are a part of the spa environment.

On this computer screen, the aura shows up likea head-to-toe halo. Mine was orange-yellow, the sign of an easy-going, detail-oriented and intelligent, creative soul.

Had I more than a morning to visit, Rahul would have recommended a colon cleansing to rid the body of toxins and a vichy shower to improve skin health. Although he — an alternative medicine specialist — and nurses are on resort staff, their recommendations are not medical prescriptions.

“We will offer advice but people are free to do what they want,” says Rahul, who also suggests a second health analysis at the end of a client’s stay.

Thailand’s most reputable and inexpensive (compared to the United States) medical facilities are luring more tourists who seek physical improvement, from hip replacement surgeries to sex change operations. It’s not unusual for these medical tourists to book a stay at RarinJinda for post-surgical recuperation, but the wellness resort should not be mistaken for a hospital. Consider this line in the disclaimer that customers sign: “The spa does not promise or guarantee any cure for any ailment or disease.”

At the core of RarinJinda, open since 2006, is a 140-year-old teakwood house whose original owner was the wife of a Burmese merchant. It connects to 35 guestrooms and suites, each with a private veranda that overlooks a large outdoor swimming pool, surrounded by thick foliage and statues of happy elephants spewing water from their trunks.

 

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